Kyrgyz phrasebook

Kyrgyz is a language spoken by 4 million people primarily in Kyrgyzstan and, to a lesser extent, in adjacent regions such as Kazakhstan, Xinjiang (China), Uzbekistan, & Tajikistan. In Kyrgyzstan, the language is co-official with Russian, which is the predominate language used in urban areas (especially Bishkek) while Kyrgyz is predominate in rural areas and small cities/towns. It is a Turkic language and has many similarities with languages such as Turkish, Tartar, Kazakh, Azeri, & Uzbek. As a result of close ties culturally and economically, Kyrgyz has become increasingly mutually intelligible with Kazakh in recent decades.

Script

The alphabet used for Kyrgyz was originally an Arabic script followed by a 20th century conversion to Roman script, much like the Arabic-Roman switch in other Turkic languages. However, cyrillic script was forced on the language by the Soviet government (as they did with all other Turkic languages) and cyrillic remains the alphabet used today by the overwhelming percentage of Kyrgyz speakers except in China, where Arabic script is the official script imposed by Chinese authorities.

Cyrillic

Arabic (initial)

Latin

А а

ا

A a

Б б

ب

B b

В в

ۋ

V v

Г г

گ

G g

Д д

د

D d

Е е

ه

Ye ye

Ё ё

يو

Yo yo

Ж ж

ج

J j

З з

ز

Z z

И и

ي

İ i

Й й

ي

Y y

К к

ك

K k

Л л

ل

L l

М м

م

M m

Н н

ن

N n

Ң ң

ڭ

Ñ ñ

О о

و

O o

Ө ө

ۅ

Ö ö

П п

پ

P p

Р р

ر

R r

С с

س

S s

Т т

ت

T t

У у

ۇ

U u

Ү ү

ۉ

Ü ü

Ф ф

ف

F f

Х х

ح

X x

Ц ц

تس

C c

Ч ч

چ

Ç ç

Ш ш

ش

Ş ş

Щ щ

--

Şç şç

Ъ ъ

--

Ы ы

ى

I ı

Ь ь

--

Э э

ه

E e

Ю ю

يۋ

Yu yu

Я я

يا

Ya ya

Pronunciation guide

Vowels

Consonants

Common diphthongs

Phrase list

Basics

Hello.

Salamatsyzby. ()

Hello. (informal)

Salam. . ()

How are you?

Kandaysiz? ( ?)

Fine, thank you.

Jakshy, rahmat ()

What is your name?

Atyngyz kim? ( ?)

My name is ______ .

Menim adim ______ . ( _____ .)

Nice to meet you.

Siz menen tanyshkanyma kubanychtumun. ()

Please.

Suranych/Otunuch. . ()

Thank you.

Rahmat. ()

You're welcome.

Echteke emes. ()

Yes.

Ooba . ()

No.

Jok . ()

Excuse me. (getting attention)

Ozor dilerem . ()

Excuse me. (begging pardon)

Perdon. ()

I'm sorry.

Korushkoncho. ()

Goodbye

Kosh kalyng. ()

Help!

Imdat ! ( !)

Good morning.

Kutmanduu tangyngyz menen. ()

Good evening.

Kutmanduu kechingiz menen. ()

I don't understand.

Men tushunboym. ()

Where is the toilet?

Tualet kayda? ( ?)

Problems

Numbers

Bir

Eki

Uc

Dort

Besh

Alti

Yeddi

Sekkiz

Dokkuz

On

Yijirma

Ottuz

Kirk

Eluu

Altmus

Yedmus

Seksen

Doksan

Yúz

Miñ

Time

Clock time

Duration

Days

Months

Writing time and date

Colors

Transportation

Bus and train

Directions

Taxi

Lodging

Money

Eating

Bars

Shopping

Driving

Authority

Learning more

A 325 page PDF document covering the Kyrgyz language, originally created for US Peace Corps volunteers in Kyrgyzstan, is available to view and download here.